Valentine's Day: A NaruSaku Edition
by breadmakesyoufat
Summary: It's almost Valentine's Day and Sakura is planning to ask Sasuke to be her valentine. Will things go as she planned? Or will Naruto's wish finally come true? This is, once again, NarutoSakura.
1. How it all started

"Talking"

'Thoughts'

**Inner Sakura's thoughts**

'I better get going! Don't wanna keep Sasuke waiting!' Young Sakura Haruno thought as she put down her brush and took one last look in her mirror before happily skipping out of her room.

It was a beautiful day in Konohagakure (I think that's the name of the village...). Sakura walked down the street, saying hello to all the happy market place folk and ninjas getting ready to start they're day.

'Today's the day!' Sakura thought as she passed some Sakura trees on her way to the bridge where Team 7 always met. 'Today's the day I'm gonna ask Sasuke-kun to be my valentine!' She smiled widely as she saw the bridge come into view.

Yes, as you may of guessed, tomorrow is Valentine's Day.

"Hello Sasuke-kun!" she called happily to the dark haired boy who was leaning against the bridge with his arms crossed over his chest and his eyes closed. She ran up beside him and smiled sweetly. "How are you today?" Sasuke just glanced at her and mumbled a:

"Fine."

**Okay Sakura! Now's your chance to ask him!** Inner Sakura exclaimed.

"Um Sasuke-kun, you know, tomorrow's Valentine's day and I was wondering..."

'Oh boy, here it comes.' Sasuke thought to himself as he rolled his eyes.

"I was wondering if-"

"Hey Sakura-chan!"

"Hun?" Sakura turned and saw Naruto running up to her at full speed. 'Oh boy, here it comes.' Sakura thought and rolled her eyes. Naruto ran until he was right up close to her.

"Hi Sakura-chan!" he said with a big smile.

"Naruto, you totally ruined it!" Sakura whispered angrily to him.

"Hun? Ruined what?"

"Arg! You dummy! I was gonna ask Sasuke-kun to be my Valentine for tomorrow!" she whispered.

"Oh, well I didn't do it on purpose! Besides, I got a very important question for you Sakura-chan!" Naruto whispered with a very determined look on his face.

"Well whatever it is, it can wait!" Sakura was getting really annoyed.

"No, it can't!" Naruto countered.

"Yeah, it can!"

"No, it can't!"

"Would you just shut up!" Sakura spat at him angrily. Naruto was taken aback, but only a little.

"Sakura-chan..."

"Save it!" Sakura said and turned back to Sasuke, who hadn't moved since Sakura had shown up. "Sasuke-kun, I was gonna ask you if-"

"No" Sasuke said suddenly.

"What? But, I haven't even asked you the ques-"

"Will I be your Valentine. No." he said, arms still crossed, eyes still closed.

"But, Sasuke-kun..." Sakura looked heartbroken, Naruto could tell.

"Sakura, I wouldn't be your Valentine if you where the last girl on earth. You're ugly, annoying, and you can't seem to understand how much I hate you. No. I won't be your Valentine. Now would you just go away?" he said in his monotone voice. Naruto walked up beside Sakura and looked at her face.

"Sakura-chan?..." he whispered softly. Her eyes where full of tears that threatened to fall. Naruto hated seeing her like this. Oh Sasuke was gonna get it real good for doing this to his beloved Sakura-chan! Sakura took one last look at Sasuke before turning and running as fast as she could. "Sakura-chan!" Naruto called and watched her run away. Then he angrily turned to Sasuke. "How could you do that to her! You know how much you mean to her!" Naruto exclaimed angrily. Sasuke opened his eyes to look at the infuriated Naruto.

"Naruto, I told her the truth. It's better that I tell her now rather then her bugging me about it until I'm an old geezer." he stated in that monotone voice of his.

"Sasuke, you should be happy that someone cares about you! I'd give anything for someone to care about me as much as Sakura-chan cares about you!" Naruto said angrily. Sasuke just closed his eyes and muttered a:

"Whatever."

'I should hurt you Sasuke! But I'm not going to because Sakura is somewhere crying and I need to go find her.'

With that, Naruto started running in the direction Sakura had gone, hoping to find her soon.


	2. Will you be my valentine?

Sakura has ran back to the park and was now sitting under a sakura tree. She had her knees up against her chest and her arms wrapped around her legs. 'He thinks I'm ugly, annoying and he hates me...' she thought as more tears ran down her face. "How could I be so stupid!" she cried into her knees.

Naruto was running past the park when he saw someone sitting under one of the trees. 'There she is!' he thought as he ran to her. "Sakura-chan!" he called to her. Sakura looked up to see Naruto running up to her.

'Oh, this is just what I need...' she thought, letting more tears fall. Naruto ran until he was right in front of her and kneeled down so hey were face to face.

"Sakura-chan, you okay?" Naruto asked worriedly.

"Go away Naruto." she mumbled.

"No way, I wanna help Sakura-chan." he said and moved to sit beside her.

"You could help by leaving me alone! How do you think it feels to have the one person you care about telling you they hate you and never paying attention to you!" Sakura said, looking at the ground. Naruto looked at the ground too.

"I know exactly how it feels" he mumbled.

"What?"

"Nothing." It was quiet, too quiet. And Naruto felt it was his duty to break this terrible silence. "Sakura-chan, I don't think you're ugly or annoying." Naruto said softly, still looking at the ground. Sakura turned to look at him and blushed lightly. She quickly turned her head so he wouldn't see.

'Why am I blushing?' she asked herself.

**Because you like him**. said Inner Sakura.

'No I don't!'

**Yeah, you do.**

'No, I-'

"Hey Sakura-chan..." Naruto started, cutting off Sakura's fight with her inner self. "Can you ask you my question now?" he asked hopefully.

"Hun? Oh, yeah sure."

'Okay Naruto, now's your big chance!' he thought. "Sakura-chan, will you be my valentine?"

Sakura looked at him. She was just a little shocked. "You want me to be your valentine?"

"Yup!" Naruto said with a big grin. Sakura didn't know how to answer.

'Naruto's just a big goof,...but I know that he does care about me...and it's not like I have anyone else to go with...'

**Go for it! You won't regret it!** Inner Sakura exclaimed.

Sakura turned to look at Naruto. 'Boy does he have one pleading look on his face.' "Sure, I'll be your valentine, Naruto." she said softly. Naruto's face lit up and he hugged Sakura.

"Thank you Sakura-chan!" he exclaimed happily. "You won't regret it, I promise!"

Sakura's face was a bright shade of red by now. 'He's hugging me! Normally I would pound him for even touching me but I...I don't want him to let me go...'

**That's because you like him, dummy!** Inner Sakura piped in.

'Do I?'

Just then, Naruto snapped out of wonderland and quickly let go of Sakura, for fear that she was gonna pummel him.

"I'm sorry Sakura-chan! I didn't mean to hug you! Please don't hurt me!" he pleaded while slowly backing away from her. Sakura smiled and reached out to touch his shoulder and stop his retreat.

"It's okay Naruto, I'm not gonna hurt you." she said. Naruto stopped backing away and looked at her.

"You're not?" This was totally new to him. Every time he had tried to get close to her or show his affection towards her, she had always shoved it back in his face.

"Nope" Sakura smiled.

"Oh...does that mean I can hug you again?" Naruto asked, grinning.

"Don't push your luck buck-o." Sakura said and stood up. Naruto stood up too. "Thanks Naruto." Sakura said sweetly.

"Hm? For what?"

"For making me feel better about what Sasuke-k...about what Sasuke had said. He's just a jerk, I should seriously get over him." Naruto smiled. She hadn't called him Sasuke-kun!

'That must mean that I've got a chance with her!' "You're welcome Sakura-chan. Do you want to go back to the bridge and wait for Kakashi-sensei?" Sakura nodded

"No. I'm going to go home. How 'bout I meet you back here tomorrow at 10a.m. and we'll figure out what we should do for Valentine's Day."

"Okay. Bye Sakura-chan!" he called happily as he watched her walk away. Once she rounded the corner of a shop and was out of sight, Naruto started jumping around happily. "Woohoo! Sakura-chan's my valentine! Oh wow, this is better then all the Ramen in the world!" he exclaimed and flopped down on the grass.

Sakura peeked around the corner of the shop and giggled. 'He's such a goof.' Then she turned and continued her walk home.


	3. This is so not my day

Sakura got home and climbed the stairs to her room.

"Sakura? Is that you dear?" her mom called from the kitchen.

"Yeah mom, I came back early." she called and walked back down the stairs and into the kitchen.

"Alright. So, how'd it go?"

"How did what go?" Sakura asked blankly.

"You asking that boy Sasuke to be your valentine."

"Oh that..." Sakura mumbled sadly.

"Oh honey, what's wrong?" Sakura's mom asked while putting her dish towel down on the counter and coming up beside her.

"Let's just say, it didn't really go as planned." Sakura muttered.

"Well, what happened?"

"Sasuke said that he...he didn't want to be my valentine. So I ran away and Naruto followed me to see if he could make me fell better." Sakura's mom gasped silently. "And now, I'm going to be spending Valentine's Day with Naruto." Her mom looked a little pale when Sakura looked at her.

"Naruto? Uzumaki Naruto?" she asked.

"Yeah, that's him. What's wrong mom?" Sakura asked.

"You...you can't see that boy Sakura." her mom said firmly.

"What? Why!" Sakura exclaimed.

"Because, that boy is dangerous. I can't let you see him anymore."

"He's dangerous! He's never done anything to hurt me! He's even saved my life from creeps like Garra! How can he be dangerous!" Sakura exclaimed.

As it appears, today was not her kinda day.

"You mean nobody's told you about him?" her mother asked with a shocked look on her face.

"Tell me, what's wrong with him? While you're at it, you can tell me why everyone hates him so much!"

"I...I'm not going to tell you, I'm just going to tell you to stay away from that boy. He's dangerous and I don't want you to get hurt."

Sakura just glared daggers at her mom before walking back up the stairs and slamming her door shut.

'What is wrong with everybody! Sure Naruto is really immature and is constantly getting into to trouble but I wouldn't say that he's dangerous!' "Well screw them, I'm gonna go out with Naruto and nobody's gonna stop me!" Sakura exclaimed with her fist in the air. 'Wait a minute, do I want to go out with Naruto that bad?' she asked herself.

**Looks like you're really exited about your little date with Naruto.** Inner Sakura grinned.

'Stay outta this!' "I gotta get outta here before mom tells dad about Naruto and I'm locked in." she mumbled as she opened her window and looked down.

There was a big thorn bush right underneath her window.

"Okay, new plan." she said as she looked to the right. 'A grain pipe, Score!' she thought as she carefully climbed out of her window and onto the pipe. She was about a meter from the ground when she slipped and fell right into the bush. 'This is so not my day.' she thought glumly as she climbed out of the bush and started to pull thorns out of her hair.

She got all the thorns out and started walking down the street. She didn't get very far before stopping though.

"Ow! What the-" she looked down at her knee and groaned. "Oh yeah, this is defiantly not my day!"

There was a big thorn sticking out of her leg with blood leaking onto her sandal.

"How could I of not felt this?" she asked herself and pulled the thorns out of her leg.

She hucked the thorn into a bush and continued her walk down the street.


	4. Hey Naruto

Sakura walked until she found herself in front of the Ramen restaurant that Naruto always went to. And as luck would have it, Naruto was sitting at the bar, slurping down the remains of his Ramen. She walked in and sat down beside him.

"Hey Naruto" she muttered.

"Hey Sakura-chan." he said and slurped down a load of Ramen. 'Wait a minute!' He swallowed real hard and turned to look at her. "Sakura-chan, what are you doing here!" then he looked down. "And what happened to your leg!" he exclaimed loudly.

"Would you pipe down! Everybody's lookin' at us!" Sakura whispered loudly.

"Fine, I'll be quieter. But what the hell happened to you?" Naruto said a little quieter then last time.

"Well, when I got home my mom wanted to know how the whole valentine thing went. I ended up telling her that I'm going out with you tomorrow. She kept telling me that you where dangerous and that I should stay away from you."

After the 'you where dangerous' part left Sakura's lips, Naruto started to hold his breath.

'I was afraid this would happen! I really don't want to tell Sakura-chan about Kyubi. If she finds out, she'll probably hate me like everyone else does!'

"So, I got all upset with her and went to my room." Sakura continued. "I ended up climbing out my window and sliding down a drain pipe. But knowing me with all my grace, I fell into a thorn bush and got a huge thorn stuck in my knee. So there you have it, my day officially sucks!" she finished and put her forehead down on the table.

'This is my fault! If I didn't have this stupid fox demon inside of me everyone would respect me and they wouldn't think I'm dangerous!' Naruto thought angrily.

He reached over and patted Sakura on the back.

"I'm sorry." he said softly.

Sakura lifted her head from the table and Naruto could tell that she had been crying.

"Why do they think that you're so dangerous Naruto? Why does everyone hate you so much?" she asked and dried her eyes. Naruto took his hand away and looked at his feet.

"I don't wanna tell you. I'm scared that you'll hate me too. I don't want you to hate me Sakura-chan, that would make me feel terrible." he said in a low voice. Sakura sighed.

"Naruto, I'm your friend. I won't hate you no matter what you tell me." she said sweetly and tried to smile, just for him. But she was having such a crappie day that it didn't turn out right.

"I...I can't." Naruto whispered. 'Not right now at least.' Sakura looked at him sadly and put her forehead back down on the table.

"That's okay Naruto. Tell me when you're ready." she mumbled. Naruto nodded gratefully that she was so understanding.

'I really hope I don't screw it up tomorrow.' he thought and got up. "Hey Sakura-chan, where are you gonna stay overnight if you can't go back to your house?" Naruto questioned. Sakura brought her head up and swirled her chair so she was facing Naruto.

"I hadn't thought that far ahead yet when I jumped out my window. I was thinking I might be able to stay with Ino-pig..." she said unenthusiastically. Naruto thought for a minute.

"Well, I guess you could always stay the night at my apartment." Naruto offered.

"Really? I could stay at your place?"

"Uh yeah, I guess."

"Thanks Naruto!" she said and gave him a hug. "You saved me from the Ino-monster!" Naruto blushed lightly and hugged her back.

"You're welcome Sakura-chan."

Sakura then realized what she was doing and let go of him quickly. Now she was blushing just like Naruto.

"Well umm...should we get going?" she asked to break the awkward silence.

"Uh, yeah sure. Let's go." Naruto said uneasily.

They started walking down the street to Naruto's apartment.


	5. The Killer Stairs

They walked side by side down the street.

'At least things are starting to look up.' Sakura thought as she watched two birds fly overhead. 'I've got a place to stay overnight, and I've even got a date for Valentine's Day.' she glanced at Naruto. 'Even if I'm going out with a complete idiot.' She thought and smiled.

Naruto noticed someone was watching him and looked over to where Sakura was walking and noticed that she was looking at him...and SMILING! 'Woah, is she okay?' he asked himself and quickly looked away when she did.

**Note to Sakura: Don't stare at a guy unless you can admit to liking him.** Inner Sakura stated smugly.

'Would you shut up about me liking Naruto-kun already!' Sakura snapped at her inner self.

**Sure, as soon as you explain why you just called that bimbo Naruto-KUN!** she snapped back

"We're here!" Naruto exclaimed, stopping Sakura's war with her inner self. Sakura looked at the building and tried not to puke.

**It's so unclean! **Inner Sakura exclaimed.

Sakura just kept looking at the place in disbelief. It was a total dump! All the windows where smashed. There was no front door, just the hinges swaying in the wind. There was piles of god-knows-what in front of the place and it didn't look like it had any electricity!

"This...is your apartment?" Sakura asked slowly, making sure that Naruto wasn't joking.

"Yeah. It's a bit of a dump, but it's all I got." he said and walked up to it and through the 'door'.

**A bit of a dump? That's not what I was gonna call it.** Inner Sakura said smugly and crossed her arms.

Sakura followed after Naruto. They got inside and Naruto went to the front desk, which was actually a three legged coffee table, and told the bum behind it that he was checking in.

Sakura just stood in the middle of the lobby and looked all around. She saw a single light bulb lighting the corner behind the bum and the coffee table.

**Well, at least they have electricity here**. Inner Sakura said sorta sarcastically. Naruto came back beside her.

"Kay, my room's upstairs. But I gotta warn you about these stairs." he said, pointing to a really old looking staircase.

"Uh Naruto, why are there holes in the steps?" Sakura asked after looking at the condition of the first 5 steps.

"That's just it." Naruto said with a little chuckle. "Anybody who doesn't know which steps to walk on end up falling through the step and into the basement."

Sakura looked at the stairs again and shuddered.

"So," Naruto continued, "Al over there (he pointed to the bum behind the coffee table) marked all the bad steps with duck tape. So, just don't step on the steps with duck tape on them. Like this one." he said and held onto the railing and stepped down hard on the first step. His foot went right through the step and hung there until he pulled it out. "Got it?" he asked and looked at Sakura.

Sakura just nodded. "You go first." she said softly.

"Kay." Naruto put out his hand. "Hold my hand." he said

"What? Why should I?" Sakura asked.

"The last person who tried to get up these stairs fell through on the 7th step and broke they're leg. I don't want that happening to you, Sakura-chan." he said firmly and took hold of her hand. Sakura nodded and gratefully held his hand.

They got up the stairs without any problems until Naruto stepped on a step without duck tape and it gave in anyway.

"Naruto!" Sakura exclaimed and tightened her grip on his hand.

"Shit!" Naruto cursed and grabbed the railing with lightening fast reflexes and stopped himself from falling. "Dammit! That's the third time this week!" Naruto said angrily and pulled his foot out of the hole int the step. "Hey Al! Another step gave in! Throw me the duck tape, would ya!" Naruto called down the stairs.

"Yeah, sure." Al grumbled and threw the duck tape up the stairs. Naruto caught the tape with one hand and let go of Sakura's hand to tape the step.

"God damn stairs. Why can't the old geezer just get them fixed?" Naruto mumbled to himself as he taped a big X on the step.

"Are you okay Naruto?" Sakura asked while watching him finish up on the step.

"Yeah, I'm used to this sorta stuff." he said and threw the tape back down the stairs. It wacked Al on the back of the head, making him fall off his chair. "Common." he said and took hold of Sakura's hand again.

They got to the top of the stairs and Sakura sighed with relief.

**Faze one complete captain! Bring on the next challenge! **Inner Sakura exclaimed with her fist in the air.

They walked down a hall and Naruto still had to warn Sakura about some unsafe spots on the floor. Sakura didn't realize that she was still holding Naruto's hand. Naruto didn't bother to tell her, he loved holding her hand.

They came to a door and Naruto had to let go of Sakura's hand do he could get his key out of his pocket and unlock the door. He was about to open the door when he stopped and turned to look at Sakura.

"Hope you don't mind the mess." he said with a forced smile. Sakura smiled. Naruto slowly opened the door and walked in. Sakura was about to follow him but he stopped her. "Hold on, I'll get the light." he said and kept walking in.

After a few crashes and curses, Naruto pulled a little string that turned on a light bulb in the middle of the small room. Sakura tried to hold in her gasp but didn't succeed.

**Oh my god...** Inner Sakura whispered softly.


	6. Naruto's apartment

Sakura slowly walked in the room and looked from side to side. His room was in an even worse condition then the lobby and the stairs combined! There were holes in the floor, even though Naruto had put plywood boards over them so he wouldn't fall into the lobby. _(Me: lol, that would_ _be funny. The sky is falling Narutos! )_

His windows had towels over them to keep the wind out._ (Me: Remember how I said that all the_ _windows had holes in them?)_ And he didn't have a bed, just some blankets and an old mattress in the corner.

Sakura stopped walking when she felt a raindrop hit her forehead and looked up. There was hole in the ceiling! Naruto came up beside her and followed her gaze.

"Oh great, rain." he sighed and walked over to what looked like a closet and pulled out 4 buckets and walked back over to Sakura. "Here." he said and handed her a bucket. "Put this under the hole to catch the water." He walked to 3 more holes and put the buckets under all of them. "That's the only thing about living on the top floor, there's holes in the roof." Naruto said and sat down on the floor. Sakura went and sat down beside him.

After awhile, she just had to ask him, she couldn't keep it in any longer.

"Naruto," she started, looking at the floor. "Why do you live in such a...such a..."

"Dump?" Naruto said with a smirk.

"Well,...yeah"

"I get money from Hokage every month because she/he_(me: which is it?)_ promised my parents that she/he would take care of me. I only get enough money to buy some food and to pay the rent to stay here. It may be a dump, but it's all I can afford." Naruto said sadly. Sakura looked at him sadly.

'Poor guy.'

"But I'm happy that you're here, Sakura-chan." he said and smiled at her. "Sometimes it gets really lonely here."

'He has to stay here, at a dump that has holes all over the place, he's got no family, and for some reason everyone in town hates his guts! But he still manages to smile at me every morning before practice. And I shove it his face and tell him he's an idiot...I'm such a jerk!' Sakura though to herself sadly.

**Tell me about it.** Inner Sakura agreed.

"Hey Naruto," Sakura said hesitantly.

"Yeah?" he turned to face her.

"I' m...I'm sorry for all the times I've called you an idiot or said you're stupid, I never really meant it. I had no idea how hard a life you lead."

Sakura was on the verge of tears. She thought that she had a hard life, but when you compare her to Naruto, she had it off real easy. Heck, compared to Naruto, she was in heaven.

Naruto was real happy to hear her words of apology. Sakura knew how hard his life was and she wasn't laughing at him like everyone else did.

"Thanks Sakura-chan. That means a lot to me." Naruto said softly and noticed that she was crying. "Oh Sakura-chan, don't cry!" he said and put a caring hand on her shoulder.

"Oh Naruto! I feel like dirt! I've been so mean to you and you still want to be my friend!" Sakura cried.

"It's okay Sakura-chan. Shhh...Please stop crying." Naruto said softly.

"Why do you try so hard to be my friend? Even when I called you all those names?" Sakura asked shakily, the sun had done down and it was starting to get cold.

"Because you're very important to me Sakura-chan" Naruto said truthfully. He had seen her shiver so he took off his yellow windbreaker and put it around her shoulders. She blushed.

"Thanks Naruto...-kun." she muttered. Naruto eyes widened slightly.

"Kun? Since when?" he asked her, looking at her lovingly.

"Since you've been so nice to me and um...you're very important to me too Naruto-kun..." she said and blushed a zillion shades of red.

**She finally admits it!** Inner Sakura exclaimed happily.

Naruto blushed lightly and looked her in the eyes. "You really mean that Sakura-chan?" he asked softly.

Sakura nodded. "Un hun." Naruto smiled

"Does this mean I can give you a hug?" he asked with a chuckle. Sakura smiled.

"Don't push you're luck buck-o" she said and fake punched him in the shoulder. Naruto pouted and gave her the puppy eyes. Sakura smiled and gave him a big hug. Naruto smiled and hugged her back.

'I love it when she hugs me.' Naruto thought to himself.

After awhile, they parted. Sakura yawned and Naruto did too soon after.

"We should get some sleep." Sakura said

"Yeah" Naruto agreed. "You can have the mattress Sakura-chan, I'll sleep on the floor."

"Are you sure?" Sakura asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine with the floor.

So Sakura climbed in the 'bed' while Naruto emptied all the buckets of water out the window. He found a blanket and lied down on the floor next to Sakura.

"Goodnight Sakura-chan" he said softly

"Goodnight, Naruto-kun"


	7. Middle of the Night

**This chapter is kinda stupid...and short. I've been busy and I'm trying to keep up the update really fast record in tact. So I just wrote a little filler to keep you guys at bay until I have a chance to update with a chapter that's a little longer. Lol, Happy reading!**

* * *

Naruto woke up during the night to empty the buckets, witch were already full of rain water. Naruto could hear the rain pounding on the roof.

"It's really coming down out there." he mumbled to himself as he poured the 3rd bucket of water out the window. 'I hope it doesn't rain for Valentine's Day.' he thought and picked up the last bucket and quickly emptied it out the window.

When he was done, he walked back over to where he had been sleeping. He heard Sakura talking in her sleep and got closer so he could hear what she was saying

"He's not dangerous..." she mumbled and turned over. "I don't care...I'm going out with him and you...you can't stop me mom..."

'Is she dreaming about when she ran away?' Naruto asked himself.

"He not dangerous!" she exclaimed and shot up, causing Naruto to fall backwards onto his butt. She blinked a few times and looked around and noticed Naruto sitting on the ground not far from her. "Naruto-kun?" she asked innocently. "You okay?"

"Yeah, just go back to bed." he mumbled and got back into his bed on the floor.

"Okay, goodnight." she said and lied back down.

"Goodnight."

They both fell asleep soon after.


	8. Sasuke's point of view

(Sasuke's point of view, many hours before. He may be OOC, well that's just to damn bad! )

I watched as that stupid idiot Naruto ran after Sakura. I didn't really want to be that mean to her, I just had too. I'm a survivor, an avenger, with the soul purpose of destroying my brother, Itachi.

I can't let silly emotions like love get in the way of my mission.

I will not deny that I have feelings for Sakura, not very strong ones, but feelings none the less. I know that she's cared about me since we were only little kids and I acknowledge her for staying with me through all the years.

I just,...I can't open up to her for fear that my brother will come after her.

'I will kill everyone that is close to you, little brother. I will make your life a living hell.' His brother's voice rang in Sasuke's head.

I don't want him to hurt her, so I must distance myself from her as much as possible. It's the only way to keep her safe.

Sasuke put his hands in his pockets and continued to wait for Kakashi to show up.

He showed up a few minutes later, Come Come Paradise book in hand and a very tiered look on his face. (Me: well, on the bit of face that you can see...) He looked up from his porno book and noticed something unusual.

"Where's Naruto and Sakura?" he asked Sasuke.

"Not here." Sasuke said coldly and brought his hands out of his pockets.

"Oh. Well, will they be coming anytime soon?" Kakashi asked and looked back down at his nasty book.

"Probably not." 'Not after what I said to Sakura.' he thought.

"I see. Well, is there anything you want to do in particular?" Kakashi asked while turning to the next page of his book.

'I wouldn't mind shoving that book up your-' "No, not really."

"Okay, you can just go home then. And there won't be any practice tomorrow due to the holiday. You going out with anyone?" Kakashi asked even though he already knew the answer. Oh at least, he thought he did. Sasuke just glared at him.

"No." he replied. Kakashi looked kinda shocked.

"Well, didn't Sakura ask you out?"

"Yeah, sorta." Sasuke said hesitantly.

"Oh, so that's why Naruto and Sakura aren't here! You musta said something to upset Sakura and make her run away and then Naruto probably got in a big huff and ran after her." Kakashi said and once again, turned a page in his book.

"Uh, yeah." Sasuke said quietly.

"Okay. I'll see you at the next practice Sasuke." Kakashi finished and vanished into a puff of smoke.

'God! I hate how that guy can read you like a book!' Sasuke thought stubbornly and put his hands back in his pockets. He decided that he would just go home. It's not like he had anything better to do.


	9. It's finally here!

"Hey Naruto-kun. Wake up."

"(mumbles something and rolls over.)"

"Wake up dude, the sun's up and you should be too."

"What?...Oh. Morning already?" Naruto asked sleepily.

"You bet! And it stopped raining!" Sakura said happily.

"Oh, that's uh...great!" he exclaimed and jumped into a standing position. 'Now we can have that picnic I planned out!' he thought happily.

"Uh Naruto-kun..." Sakura started, breaking him out of his train of thought. "I've got a problem. I don't have anything clean to wear for our date." she said sadly. "I'd have to go home to change and then my parents probably wouldn't let me leave."

Naruto frowned. This was indeed, a problem. "Well," Naruto started "We could always climb up that drain pipe again." he said with a smile.

"Yeah, sure. You can climb the pipe, but my pipe climbing days are over." Sakura said with a smirk.

"Okay. I'll climb the pipe and then I'll pull you up through the window once I'm inside." Naruto said. Sakura thought about it.

"Yeah, that might work." she said. "Well, it's worth a try at least."

"Great! Let's go now!" Naruto said and pulled Sakura up so she was standing beside him.

"Wait! Can't I at least have a shower before we go?" she asked hurriedly while Naruto pulled her towards the door. Naruto stopped and turned to look at her.

"I don't think you want to have a shower here, Sakura-chan." he said.

"Why wouldn't I?" she asked, almost scared to know the answer.

"Well, there's no hot water. I found that out the hard way when I started living here." Sakura frowned.

**No hot water! This place is inhuman!** Inner Sakura exclaimed. Sakura sighed.

"Okay, let's go then." she said and together they left the cold, wet apartment room and walked down the hall. They got down the stairs without much difficultly and started walking down the street towards Sakura's house.


	10. Sakura's mom

They got to Sakura's house and went around to the east side of the house and looked up at Sakura's room window. Naruto's gaze started at the window and slowly followed the drain pipe and landed on the thorn bush.

"You fell into THAT!" he asked putting emphasis on the last word and pointing to the killer bush. Sakura sighed.

"Yup, hurt like hell. I never did see why my dad liked that bush so much when we saw it at the Ninja Market."

"I'm surprised you didn't get hurt a lot worse then just a thorn in your knee." Naruto said and walked up to the pipe.

"Yeah." Sakura agreed and watched Naruto climb that pipe like it was a full time profession and climb into her room. "Naruto-kun, you make it look so easy!" she said with an irritated voice.

"Hehe, sorry." he said and watched Sakura start to climb the drain pipe. She was almost to the window when her foot slipped and she lost her balance. She started to fall, but much to the evil bush's dismay, Naruto grabbed her hand and stopped her from falling. "It's okay Sakura-chan. I got you." he said reassuringly and put his other hand out for her to take. She gave him a thankful look and took his other hand. He pulled her up and she climbed through the window.

"Thanks Naruto-kun. I thought that bush was gonna get me again." she said and smiled sweetly. Naruto smiled his million dollar smile.

"You're welcome Sakura-chan. Now we need to hurry, your parents might of heard that." he said, referring to them climbing in the window.

"Oh right! I'll be right back." she said and grabbed some clothes out of her closet and crept across the hall and into the bathroom.

Naruto smiled contently and sat down on her bed. 'I'm in Sakura-chan's room. I never thought I'd end up being here.' he thought to himself. 'Then again, I never thought I'd be going out with her for Valentine's Day.' he smiled at the thought.

Soon after, Sakura walked back into her room.

"Okay, I'm ready." Naruto turned to look at her and smiled. She was wearing a light pink dress that had spaghetti straps and cut off at about her knees.

"You look very pretty in that dress, Sakura-chan" Naruto stated and stood up. Sakura blushed lightly.

"Thanks Naruto-kun. I'm ready to go when you are." she said softly.

"Kay. Let's go before your mom or dad-"

"Sakura? Is that you up there?" Sakura heard her mom call from the kitchen. She gasped as she heard her mother coming up the stairs.

"Out the window?" Naruto questioned quickly.

"There's not enough time! Hide in the closet!" Sakura said and opened her closet door. She got a hold of Naruto and pushed him in and managed to close the closet door. Immediately after the closet door was shut, her mom opened the door to her room. She looked at Sakura and sighed. She walked over to her and gave her a hug.

"I thought you weren't coming back!" she cried happily.

"Oh mom..." Sakura said softly.

"Why did you run away? Did Naruto kidnap you!" her mom asked worriedly and let go of her. "He didn't hurt you, did he!"

"No mom. I ran away because you weren't gonna let me go out with Naruto." Sakura said calmly. "I jumped out the window, ran into Naruto at the Ramen restaurant and stayed the night at his apartment. We snuck back in here so I could get some clean clothes to wear for our date and yes, he's here. He's hiding in my closet, listening to everything we say." Sakura finished and opened her closet door. Naruto looked at Sakura's mom and waved with a smile.

"Hiya." he said and climbed out of the closet.

It took a few seconds for all this new information to sink into Mrs. Haruno's head. Then she sighed and lightly rubbed her temples.

"You really want to go out with Naruto, don't you?" she asked Sakura softly. Sakura nodded. "Do you even know why's he's so dangerous yet? Has he told you?" her mom asked. Naruto stiffened and Sakura glared at her mom.

"No, not yet. He's scared that I'm going to hate him like everyone else does, even though I told him I could never hate him." Sakura said and took one of Naruto's hands in her own. Naruto looked at her and smiled. Mrs. Haruno looked at them and sighed.

"I don't suppose I can stop you from going on this date with him." she said and looked at Naruto with an intense stare. At the moment, Naruto was feeling very uncomfortable, even with Sakura's hand grasping his reassuringly. "You better not hurt Sakura. So help me God if you unleash Ky-"

"I would never hurt Sakura-chan! I'll take good care of her, I promise you Mrs. Haruno!" Naruto cut her off, not wanting her to say anything unwanted while Sakura was listening. Sakura's mom crossed her arms in front of her chest.

"Okay, you can go one this date with Naruto. But I want you home before 10, you hear me little missy. And no more climbing through windows either."

Sakura nodded and watched her mom walk out of her room and back down the stairs.

"I think that went rather well." Sakura said and smiled slightly.

"Are you kidding! I was as tense as hell!" Naruto exclaimed. Sakura giggled and pulled him out of her room and down the stairs. They left Sakura's house and walked down the street.

* * *

**Question!**

**How do you guys feel about a Hinata/Sasuke pairing in the next chapter? I've already wrote the next chapter but I wanna know if you'd hate me or love me for it...**

**R&R MelanieStar**


	11. Sasuke's Date

**Okay, so as you may know, we had a major fight over wether it was going to be a Hinata/Sasuke or a Sasuke/Ino. I, in the end, decided to just make it a Hinata/Sasuke because that's what I was going to do before people started getting fussy. If you don't like that, too bad, that's the way it is. Please review! MelanieStar**

* * *

"So what are we gonna do now?" Sakura asked while waving to a happy shop keep.

"Well, I kinda had something planned out for lunch and then I've got a surprise set up for later." Naruto said.

"Oh really?" Sakura said. "Okay, sounds good to me."

"Cool. Common, it's over here!" Naruto exclaimed and led her onward.

They arrived at their destination minutes later. They were back at the Sakura tree garden that Naruto had asked Sakura out at. They walked through the trees until they came to a huge Sakura tree with a picnic laid out underneath it.

"Oh wow! This is awesome!" Sakura exclaimed happily and ran up to the tree. Naruto smiled and followed her.

"I thought you'd like it."

"Oh, it's wonderful! Thank you Naruto-kun!" she said and gave him a hug.

'I'll never get tiered of this' Naruto thought as he hugged her back tightly.

"Uh Naruto-kun, I can't breath..." Sakura squeaked.

"Ah! I'm sorry Sakura-chan!" Naruto exclaimed and quickly let go of her. Sakura took in a couple of deep breaths and smiled.

"It's okay Naruto-kun."

They sat down on the checkered blanket and started to eat their lunch. Little did they know that someone was watching them from the tree that they were under. They ate in silence until Sakura's curiosity got the better of her.

"So,...are you going to give me a hint on what the surprise is?" she asked slyly. Naruto gave her a questioning look.

"What? You're already curious?" he asked and chuckled.

"I can't help it! Surprises drive me crazy!" she chuckled

"I would give you a clue, but it'd make it so obvious that you'd guess it. And that's no fun." Naruto stated and took a bit of his sandwich. Sakura frowned.

"Fine, be that way." she pouted sarcastically.

They ate in silence with the odd comment here and there.

(Meanwhile, in the tree...)

'Oh this is just great! I'm stuck in a tree with Sakura and Naruto eating underneath it and I don't think I can sneak away without either one of them noticing me!' Sasuke mentally complained. 'Why did I have to go and fall asleep anyway!'

(About 40 minutes before...)

'It's still early, I guess I could go rest in a tree before I meet up with Hinata.' Sasuke thought as he walked into the Sakura tree park. 'I don't even want to go out with Hinata. But that stupid Kakashi wouldn't leave me alone until he knew that I had a date for Valentine's day...What a bother...'

He found a huge tree and jumped onto one of it's thicker branches. He laid back against the trunk of the tree and closed his eyes.

'I'll only rest for a few minutes...' And with that, he drifted off to sleep.

While he was sleeping, Kakashi came by with a picnic basket and a piece of paper.

"It looks like this is the tree Naruto said he wanted the picnic to be under." he muttered to himself and put the paper in his pocket. He looked up into the tree and smirked. "Well, well, well. Isn't this convenient." he chuckled when he saw Sasuke fast asleep in the tree. 'Oh well. I don't see why I should wake him up.'

He put the basket down and laid the blanket out underneath the tree. Once everything looked perfect, he looked back up at Sasuke. 'He's gonna be late for his date with that Hinata girl...oh well.' He took his book out of his side pocket and casually walked away.

(Back to present time...)

'To make things worse, I'm late for my date with Hinata! Now she's probably going to think I hate her and start crying...God, I hate it when people cry,...especially girls...' He looked down at the couple who were almost done their meal. Well at least they're almost done eating. When they go, I get to go too.

"You full Sakura-chan?"

"Yeah, I'm stuffed. How bout you?"

"Oh yeah. Let's go for a walk, sound good?" Naruto asked and stood up.

"Yeah, sure." Naruto helped her stand up and they walked away.

'Finally!' Sasuke thought as he watched them go. He jumped down from the tree and started running out of the park. 'I never thought Naruto would get Sakura to go on a date with him.' Sasuke thought as he rounded a corner. 'Although stranger things have happened.'

He got to Hinata's house and ran up the steps to her front door. He rang the doorbell twice and tried to catch his breath the best he could. The door slowly opened and Hinata poked her head around the door.

"Hey" Sasuke managed to say in between breaths. She had tear tracks that ran down her cheeks and she looked very depressed. She tried to smile when she saw him and quickly wiped the tear stains from her face.

"H-hey Sasuke-kun" she said softly and opened the door all the way. She was obviously very upset about Sasuke being late for their date.

'She looks so sad,...I can't help but feel bad.' Sasuke thought as he watched her wipe the eyes again.

She was wearing a black dress with little red flowers that clustered at the bottom of the dress. She slipped her sandals on and stepped outside, closing the door behind her. "So um...w-where are we g-going?" she asked softly and looked at her feet. Sasuke looked at her sadly.

'She's a wreck. If I have to go out with her, I may as well be nice to her. It's not like she'll tell anyone.' he thought. "Look Hinata, I'm sorry I was late to pick you up. It's not that I don't want to go out with you if that's what you're thinking." Sasuke said and lifted her chin up so she was looking in his eyes. She blushed lightly and nodded. Sasuke withdrew his hand from her chin and gave her a little smile. "How's about we go get something to eat?" Hinata smiled slightly and nodded.

"O-okay."

So together, they walked to none other then, the famous Ramen Restaurant.


	12. The Movies

Sakura and Naruto were walking through the village. Naruto had known that Sasuke was in the tree that they had been sitting under, he just didn't want to tell Sakura. He figured that the last thing that she needed was to see him, not after all the name calling that had happened.

It was about 1 in the afternoon and the sun was shining high above them as they walked down the street. They passed Naruto's apartment and Sakura frowned at the sight of it.

'That's right, I still need to talk to Naruto about that.' She turned to Naruto and opened her mouth to talk but was cut off.

"Hey Sakura-chan?" Naruto said and looked at her. Sakura closed her mouth. She could always tell him her plan later.

"Yeah?"

"Would you like to go to a movie?" he asked and smiled. (Me: Yeah, I know. They don't necessarily have movie theaters in Naruto's village. Oh well, use your imagination.)

'A movie?' "But you don't have very much money and-"

"Money's not a problem!" he cut her off. "I've been saving up for awhile now so that we could go." Sakura gave him a sad look.

"But...wouldn't you rather spend that money on a better apartment room or maybe some food?"

"Nope! I saved this money up just so that I could take Sakura-chan on a date!" he said happily.

**That's so sweet** Inner Sakura said softly. **You must really mean a lot to him.** Sakura looked at Naruto in the eyes.

'I feel so bad. I was always ignoring him and he was saving up money so we could go to a movie together, even when I kept telling him to get out of my face.'

"Well?" Naruto asked and smiled. Sakura nodded.

"Yeah, let's go." she said and took his hand in hers. Naruto smiled inwardly as he grasped his hand around hers and they walked towards the movie theater.

When they got to the movie theater, there weren't any tickets left for the really good movies. They had to choose between Sweet Home Alabama or The Grudge. Considering they didn't really want to see a chick flick, they decided to see The Grudge.

They loaded up on pop and popcorn and found two seats in the middle of the theater. After a few previews (including the totally awesome preview for War of the Worlds! Me: I so want to see that movie!), the movie started.

Sakura and Naruto quietly munched on their popcorn. Suddenly, a really scary scene came up and Sakura tried to hold in a scream. Naruto looked at her. Then, another really scary part came up and Sakura grabbed Naruto's hand and squeezed it tightly. He was a little surprised.

'So this is why guys like to take girls out to scary movies.' Naruto thought and squeezed her hand.

Sakura drew her eyes away from the movie screen to look in Naruto's eyes. Naruto smiled at her and slowly leaned in. Their lips were almost touching when someone taped Sakura and Naruto's shoulders at the same time.

They both screamed and turned to see who had touched their shoulders.

"Hey guys. Pretty good movie, eh?" Kakashi whispered to them and turned the page in his porno book. Sakura and Naruto had a classic anime sweat drop. Sakura blushed slightly at the thought of what Naruto and her would've done if Kakashi hadn't shown up.

"Kakashi-sensei! I was gonna kiss Sakura-chan just now! Why did you have to go and interrupt!" Naruto whispered to his sensei. Kakashi looked up from his book and looked from Sakura to Naruto.

"Oh, sorry guys. Hehehe...this is kinda awkward..." Kakashi whispered with his hand behind his head.

**Damn right it is!** Inner Sakura muttered with a bright shade of red to her face.

They all turned back to the movie and watched it in silence, except for the odd scream or shriek here and there.


	13. Another Attempted Kiss

I'm sorry it took me so long to update! I had a mixture of Finals and writer's block problems, but that's all cleared up now. I mean, I 've still got Finals and Exams coming up but the REALLY SERIOUS ones have already passed by. I'll try to update more frequently now that summer is almost upon us. I think I made a pretty good come back with a long chapter though... R&R MelanieStar

* * *

Sakura, Kakashi and Naruto all walked out of the theater. Kakashi had lots of popcorn in his hair, considering that every time Sakura was holding her popcorn bucket and got scared, she would scream and throw her bucket in the air, which of coarse, landed on Kakashi's head.

"Sorry about the popcorn throwing Kakashi-sensei." Sakura said and pointed to a piece he had missed when he was cleaning his hair of popcorn.

"It's okay Sakura." he said and picked the stray piece out. "I know you didn't mean it. But YOU!" he pointed and accusing finger at Naruto's nose. "You DID do it on purpose!" Naruto shook his head.

"No I didn't! It was an accident!" Naruto pleaded.

"Yeah right! I saw you! You turned around and dumped you whole bucket on my head!"

Sakura chuckled.

"No I didn't! You must be imagining things in your OLD AGE!" Naruto exclaimed.

"THAT'S IT!" Kakashi exclaimed and got Naruto in a head lock. "Nuggie!" he cried and gave Naruto a big nuggie. (Me: lol.)

"Ah! Kakashi-sensei, you're messing up my hair!" Naruto cried and tried to get out of his sensei's grip.

"Naruto, your hair's already messy. Anything I do won't make a difference." Kakashi stated and let go of him. Naruto patted his hair.

'He does have a point...' Sakura thought as she watched Naruto play with his hair.

"So, what are you guys gonna do next?" Kakashi asked and brought his book out of his pocket. Sakura turned to Naruto.

"I don't know. What are we gonna do?" she asked her blond friend. Naruto stopped messing around with his hair and shrugged.

"I dunno. What time is it?"

Kakashi looked at the clock in the bakeries's window across the street. "4:00." he mumbled and looked back down at his book.

'Okay. Well, we've got 2 hours before the dance I wanna take Sakura to starts. So,...I guess we could always go get some ramen before the dance.' Naruto planned on the spot. "Hey Sakura, you hungry?" he asked.

"Well, sorta. I mean, I didn't eat very much of my popcorn..." she glanced at Kakashi apologetically.

"Are you up to some ramen?" Naruto asked her.

"Yeah, sur-" she replied but noticed that Naruto had walked away in the direction of the Ramen Restaurant. She chuckled lightly. "See ya later Kakashi-sensei!" she called and followed after Naruto.

"Bye." Kakashi mumbled and started walking away with his face glued to his dirty book.

Naruto and Sakura got to the Ramen Restaurant and couldn't believe their eyes.

"Is that Hinata?" Naruto asked softly as they quickly moved so they were hidden behind a big tree.

"Yeah, and she's with Sasuke..." Sakura whispered while peeking around the tree. "You think they're on a date?"

Naruto nodded. "Nah, couldn't be." he said.

Sasuke and Hinata stood up and left the restaurant a few minutes later and Sakura and Naruto came out from behind the tree.

"What was that all about?" Naruto asked while they walked to the restaurant.

"I don't know..." Sakura said thoughtfully. Naruto glanced at her to see a concerned look plastered on her face.

'Does she still love him after all the things he's put her through?' he wondered and opened the front door of the restaurant for her. She gave him a little smile and walked in.

They walked up to the counter and took seats right beside the coffee machine. The waiter came out of the back room and walked up to them.

"Hey Naruto." he said, then he saw Sakura. "Is this your date?" Sakura blushed lightly and stared down at the counter.

"Yep! This is Sakura-chan!" Naruto said happily. The waiter smiled at Sakura.

"Pleased to meet you Sakura." he said and leaned in close to Naruto's ear. "Nice catch." he whispered to low for Sakura to hear and Naruto gave him a thumbs up. "So," the waiter said loudly and stood up straight. "What can I get you two?"

"The usual!" Naruto said cheerfully.

"I'll have the ramen special please." Sakura said softly.

"Alright, two ramen specials coming right up!" the waiter said and walked back over to the back room door he had come out of.

Naruto and Sakura sat in silence until Sakura sighed loudly and gained Naruto's attention.

"Sakura-chan, what's wrong?" he asked softly.

"Nothing." Sakura said quietly and continued to stare down at the counter.

"Sakura-chan, I know something's wrong. Please don't lie to me." Naruto said and reached over and lifted her chin up and turned it gently so that she was looking him in the eyes. "I want to know what's wrong."

Sakura felt a tear fall from her eye upon hearing his caring words. "I don't want to tell you, I'm afraid I'll hurt you." she whispered. Naruto took his hand away from her chin and cupped her cheek instead.

"You won't hurt me, I promise. I can't help you unless I know what's wrong." Naruto said softly. Sakura smiled slightly and another tear fell down her face.

"Since when did you get so mature?" she asked with a fake chuckle.

"I'm not any more mature then usual, I just care about you." he said and smiled.

Sakura smiled slightly but it quickly disappeared when she decided that she should tell him what was going on in her head.

"It's Sasuke." she said in a low whisper.

Naruto frowned and took his hand away from her face. "That's what I figured it was." he said, a hint of distaste in his voice.

"It's just that, I know I shouldn't care about him anymore and I'm trying my hardest not to, it's just...It hurt me to see him with Hinata when she's shown no interest in him for the longest time. But, I've cared for him for so long and he never even acknowledged me." Sakura mumbled and tears started to fall freely. "I don't want to feel this way about him anymore, he's already caused me enough pain!"

Naruto watched her with a breaking heart. 'How can I make her forget about Sasuke?'

Naruto hesitantly reached over and took both her hands in his. Sakura looked up into his eyes and saw how sad he was. "I'll help you forget, if you want me too." he said soothingly and squeezed her hands reassuringly.

Sakura looked him in the eyes and nodded slowly. Naruto smiled and slowly leaned in towards her and Sakura leaned in towards him. She could feel the warmth of his breath on her lips when a loud dinging sound erupted from behind the counter.

"AH!" Sakura and Naruto exclaimed as they both fell off their chairs and landed on the ground with two large 'thump!'s. Sakura rubbed the back of her head and looked up to see the waiter leaning over the counter and grinning down at the fallen ninjas.

"Ramen's ready!" he said cheerfully and disappeared behind the counter once again. Sakura rolled her eyes and looked over to where Naruto was sitting. He was a big bump on his head and a really annoyed look on his face mixed with a tint of red on his cheeks.

'That's the second time today someone's messed up my kiss with Sakura!' he thought and slowly got up. Sakura stood up and sat back down on her chair in front of a big bowl of steaming hot ramen. Naruto sat down beside and started to eat his ramen a lot slower them usual, cursing under his breath.


	14. The Valentine's Day Dance

**Sorry for not updating for such a long time! I've finished writing the rest of this story out on paper and I'll be finishing it on this site really soon!(I've got like another 3 chapters to update after this one and then I'm done! WOOT!) I hope you enjoy this chapter! I had a great time writing it, please review and tell me if you liked or hated it (or anything in between is good 2).**

**Peace out,**

**MelanieStar**

**P.S.**_ 'thoughts'_

* * *

'_20 minutes 'till the dance. I guess we better get going!'_ Naruto thought.

They had been at the Ramen Restaurant for the last hour and Naruto, after about 12 bowls of ramen, was finally full! Sakura had had one bowl as soon as they had gotten to the restaurant and another one after about 40 minutes of watching Naruto stuff his face.

Needless to say, she was slightly bored.

'_If only I had known what I was getting myself into when I said yes to his ramen offer...'_ Sakura thought as she leaned on her elbows which were standing securely on the table, her chin placed in one open palm.

-"Sakura-chan?" Naruto said, making her lift her chin and swivel her chair so she could look at her blond companion.

-"Hm?"

-"Are you ready to go?" he asked, glancing once again at the clock that was stationed on the wall behind the counter.

**"Am I ready to go? Am _I_ ready to go! I was 'ready to go' a long time ago! I've been waiting for you to stop hoggin' down noodles for the last hour! So yeah, I _AM_ ready to freaken go!"** Inner Sakura fumed.

-"Yeah." Sakura said calmly and got up.

-"Okay." Naruto said and stood up, following her out of the restaurant.

They started walking down the street. It took awhile before Naruto decided to bring up the subject of the dance.

-"Sakura-chan, remember how I told you that I had a surprise for you?" Naruto asked, looking up at the sky. Sakura turned and gazed at him with a puzzled look.

-"Yeah, but I thought the movie was the surprise." she said. Naruto smiled and shook his head.

-"Nope, that wasn't the surprise," he said looking straight in front of them. "That is."

Sakura stared at him for another moment before hesitantly turning her head to look straight ahead.

She gasped.

-"This is-..." she whispered softly.

-"Yep! It's the Valentine's Day Dance!" Naruto finished for her, looking at her facial expression turn from shock, to excitement.

There, in front of the two, was a colorful sign that read: _Happy Valentine's Day!_ With pink and red writing. Behind it was a huge stage with 5 Djs stationed on it. All around the stage were giant speakers and flashing lights. Sakura could hear Avril Lavigne playing in the distance and could see many people standing in front of the stage, dancing.

She slowly turned to Naruto with a joyful face, to say the least. Naruto, still smiling uncontrollably, grabbed her hand.

-"Let's go! He said and started running towards the party, dragging Sakura along behind him. Sakura regained her composure after a few wobbly steps and caught up to run along side Naruto.

-"Naruto-kun, this is awesome! Thanks so much for bringing me here!" she exclaimed happily and leaned in, giving him a quick kiss on the cheek. Naruto turned a bright shade of red and turned towards her, smiling brightly.

-"Anything for you, Sakura-chan." he said in what Sakura thought was the sweetest voice she'd ever heard.

They passed under the colorful sign and continued to steadily run towards the party. They ran straight into the dancing crowd and blended in as they broke out into some hardcore (or in Naruto's case, scary) dance moves.

* * *

After about an hour and a half worth of Avril Lavigne, Ciara, Linkin Park (which featured a very impressive demonstration of breakdancing from some little kids who could really break it down), and Jay-Z (who kept insisting that everybody had 'dirt on their shoulders' and that they needed to 'get it off'), they played the first slow song of the evening, We Belong Together by Mariah Carey.

Sakura hesitantly turned and looked at Naruto questionably after seeing the various couples in the crowd join together for the dance. Naruto gave her a nervous smile and drew nearer so he could whisper in her ear.

-"I don't know how to slow dance, Sakura-chan." he said shyly and drew away, only to have Sakura reach out and grab both his hands in hers, pulling him back.

-"Then I'll teach you." she said softly and placed his hands on her waist, moving her own so that they were loosely wrapped around his neck, earning a light blush from the blond. "Now just relax and follow my lead." Sakura said softly and started swaying from side to side with the rhythm of the song, all the while watching Naruto's face as he looked down at her feet, mimicking her ever move.

After awhile, Naruto became more comfortable with the whole situation and got the hang of slow dancing. He looked up and locked eyes with Sakura, giving her a smile. Sakura smiled back and leaned in, resting her head on his shoulder and tightening her grip around his neck.

-"I really enjoyed spending my day with you, Naruto-kun." she whispered in his ear. Naruto breathed in deep, enjoying the sweet scent of strawberries that radiated off her hair.

'_I've never been close enough to smell it before...'_ he thought as his hold on her waist tightened slightly, turning their position into more of a hug then before. "I'm glad you enjoyed it..." Naruto said softly.

They swayed back and forth slowly, savoring the time when they could be in each other's arms without the awkward silence or interruptions.

-"And Naruto-kun..." Sakura said softly, but Naruto could hear some hesitation in her voice. He gently nudged her neck with his nose, urging her to continue. "Thank you for helping me feel better about Sasuke...whether you realize it or not, you really helped me feel better about what he said the other day...and to feel better about myself..." she said as the song finished playing and all the couples around them parted from each other, getting ready for the next quick paced song.

Naruto felt Sakura gently pull away from the embrace and he reluctantly released his hold on her. She smiled at him and took his hand, leading him over to the side of the stage.

-"I'll be right back, I just need to go to the lady's room." she said and released his hand, turned, and walked over to the Tea House, the only place for blocks that was offering their bathrooms for the dance's public to use. (You know how most places won't let you use their bathrooms unless you buy something from them, right? Well, that's not the case here.)

Naruto sat down against the stage, trying to get as far away as possible from an oversized speaker that was now blaring some Missy Elliot.

He thought about Sakura. About how her pink hair slows in the wind, or how she blushes lightly when she gets embarrassed,...and how she sends shivers down his spine every time she holds his hand or whispers in his ear...

That's when a certain thought that had been torturing him for awhile surfaced again.

'_Dammit...How the hell am I gonna tell her about Kyubi!...And how will she react? Will she hate me like everybody else does...or worse?' _Naruto let out a frustrated grumble and messed up his hair with both hands. _'It's useless! I'm on a direct course for failure! I can't win!'_

-"ARG!" he exclaimed and smacked his head against the back of the stage, earning some weird looks from a passing couple.

(With Sakura)

After using the 'bathroom' and washing her hands, Sakura took a quick glance in the mirror on the way out. After fixing her hair, she gave herself a satisfied smile before exiting the lay's room and out the Tea House door.

Looking ahead of her, she couldn't see Naruto. _'I guess he moved away from those speakers. Not_ _that I blame him, those things are enough to give anybody a headache!'_ she thought and looked to the side, seeing if she could spot him.

Not seeing Naruto, she was about to turn her head back when she bumped into something soft. Almost falling over backwards, she looked ahead of her to see what she bumped into. Seeing nothing but a dark blue shirt, she looked up to see-...

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**Lol, CLIFFY! I'll update soon! R&R MelanieStar**


	15. A Disturbance in the force!

-"Sasuke?" Sakura gasped and took a few steps back from the boy in front of her.

-"Hey Sakura." Sasuke said and took a step towards her.

-"Sasuke, what are you doing here?" Sakura asked and put a hand out in front of her, as if it would keep him from coming any closer.

-"Well, I came to see you." Sasuke said and grabbed Sakura's hand. He gave it one sudden yank, which sent Sakura falling into his arms.

-"Sasuke! What are you-?" Sakura stuttered but was cut off as Sasuke firmly wrapped his arms around her.

-"I'm sorry Sakura. I never meant any of those things I said to you..." he said suddenly, totally catching an already confused Sakura off guard.

-"What do you mean?" she asked softly.

-"All the mean things I've ever said to you, I didn't mean any of them... I was just trying to distance myself from you so that if my brother were ever to show up, you wouldn't of been a target." Sasuke said and hugged her closer, still getting no response to the embrace.

This was all Sakura had ever dreamed of. Her, Haruno Sakura, was in Sasuke's arms, receiving a genuine hug from the black haired teen, and he was telling her that he was sorry for all the pain and tears he's put her through!

About two days ago, this world of been paradise in Sakura's eyes! But somehow, the whole situation didn't feel right to her,...something was defiantly wrong.

Sakura didn't say anything to respond to Sasuke's confession, so he gently released her to look in her eyes, ignoring the sound of Green Day playing in the background.

-"Sakura, I-...I've got feelings for you,...and I- I want to be with you..." Sasuke said and gently rubbed the side of Sakura's arm, making it cover in goose bumps instantly at the touch. "I'm not afraid of my brother anymore...and I know that I can protect you from anything,...please, say you'll be with me." Sasuke finished and looked deep into Sakura's eyes.

Sakura just stared at his blue shirt, not really looking at him. This was too much, too fast. She'd just finished getting over Sasuke, and now all of a sudden he had some kind of feelings for her? Where did that come from?

Getting her senses back, she gently shook her head from side to side.

-"No...no Sasuke. I can't be with you, I'm with Naruto-kun...-" she started, still unsure of her feelings towards Naruto as well.

-"Do you honestly think that I'm going to let some little thing like Naruto stand in my way of being with you!" Sasuke said and reached out to take Sakura's hand.

It was then that something inside of Sakura snapped back to life. She jerked away from his hand and gave him a cold glare.

-"What do you mean 'some little thing like Naruto'! He's just like the rest of us, human! He's not just 'some little thing'! Do you have any idea how much crap Naruto-kun has go through everyday! No, of coarse you don't. You've never seen his living conditions or the way people treat him! I'm sick everybody just brushing him off like as if he's 'just some little thing' that can be thrown away and easily replaced!" Sakura exclaimed angrily and turned to storm away, knowing that if she had to say anymore, she might break down in tears.

Sasuke quickly recovered from her lash out and grabbed hold of her arm, pulling her back, once again, into his arms. Sakura tried to pull away but he had her by the arms and was not about to let go.

-"Sasuke! Let go of me!" Sakura said and struggled some more.

Next thing she knew, she could feel a pair of warm lips crash against her own. Her eyes went wide as slowly, but surely, her first kiss was taken away from her.

(With Naruto)

-"Where is she?" Naruto muttered to himself as American Idiot blasted from the giant speaker from his right, rendering him almost deaf. _'It's been way too long, I'm gonna go see where she is.'_ he thought as he stood up, walking to the corner where the stage ended and the shops and restaurants were.

Naruto walked up to the end of the stage and turned the corner. He searched the row of shops for the tea house and saw it.

As he walked towards the little shop, gently rubbing one of his aching ears on the way, he saw a couple of people standing in front of the shop. As he got closer, his feet came to a halt while his mouth slowly opened.

There, in front of him, was Sasuke and Sakura, lip locked and hugging! ...Okay, maybe it was a one way hug, but still! Kissing?

Naruto jerked one of his hands to his chest as his heart gave out a shock wave of pain through his body. _'This can't be happening! I thought Sakura-chan was over Sasuke!'_ he looked on as Sakura's eyes slowly closed. _'I guess I was wrong about her...she's no different then the rest of the village...'_ he thought as a tinge of anger erupted within him.

(Back with Sakura)

Her eyes went wide as Sasuke forced his lips onto her own, still tightly holding onto her arms so she couldn't get away.

'_No! I don't want this! I don't want to be with him...'_ Sakura's mind rambled on as she closed her eyes, tears escaping them.

Her mind wandered to Naruto, the person who had always been there for her, always. The way he smiled all the time, even when he was sad, he would desperately try to smile, just for her.

More tears escaped Sakura's eyes as she thought about her blond companion.

Her eyes shot open as she felt Sasuke's hold on her arms loosen and she seized the moment. Finding some unknown power she didn't know she had, Sakura pushed hard on Sasuke's chest, making him release his hold on her as she backed up numerous steps, tears still leaking out of her eyes.

Sasuke regained his posture and gave her a questioning look.

-"Sakura, what are you...?" then he saw the tears that were running down her face and the sad look she was giving him. _'Did...did I go too far?'_ Sasuke asked himself. "Sakura, I-" but Sasuke was cut off when a bright orange wind breaker caught his eye.


	16. Make Up, and make out?

-"Naruto-kun!" Sakura exclaimed after turning to see what Sasuke was looking at. Naruto, looking throughly pissed, walked up to Sasuke without even looking at Sakura.

-"You bastard!" Naruto exclaimed with gritted teeth and brought his fist as far back as it would go before swinging forward and punching Sasuke across the face, making him fall over sideways and land on the ground, nose bleeding. Sakura shrieked in surprise and looked down at Sasuke.

Sasuke tried to get up, but didn't quite make it as Naruto roughly kicked him in the stomach, making him bend over in two from the pain. Naruto swiftly brought his fist down onto Sasuke's face once more, breaking his nose, and rendering him unconscious. Sakura was covering her mouth with her hands, trying not to scream out.

She looked up as Naruto turned towards her, noticing the steady stream of tears that was running down her face. _'She must be upset because I punched her beloved Sasuke-kun...'_ Naruto thought unhappily.

-"Naruto-kun! I can explain-" Sakura started, taking a step towards him, but he put out his hand, stopping her.

-"Spare me Sakura." he said with distaste in his voice, not bothering to add chan to her name. "I thought you different then everybody else...I thought...Oh forget it." Naruto spat out and turned to run but Sakura lunged forward, grabbing hold of his arm.

-"Naruto-kun, please just let me explain...!" she started but Naruto jerked his arm out of her grip and started to run. "Naruto-kun!" Sakura yelled after him but he didn't stop or look back, he just kept running.

More tears streamed out of Sakura's eyes as Naruto ran out of sight. _'I need to go find him and tell him what really happened...'_ She thought and hastily wiped her eyes, glancing at Sasuke.

He was unconscious and to Sakura's opinion, his nose looked broken. Not that she cared though. Sakura walked over to him and kicked his side, hard.

-"Why did you have to go and do _that_?" she exclaimed angrily. "That was my _first kiss_!" Getting no response and feeling no better, Sakura turned and ran in the direction Naruto had gone, hoping to find him before it got too dark to see.

Naruto ran blindly through the village, infuriated by the whole scene he had just witnessed. _'I can't believe it! I just can't believe it! The one person I've ever really opened up to went and betrays me!'_

He ran over to the bridge that Team 7 always waited at every morning for their sensei, who was always late, and then they would yell at him for having bad excuses afterwards. Naruto stopped running once he was on the bridge, panting slightly. _'I love her...and I thought, maybe, just this once, she could learn to love me too...'_

-"Arg!" Naruto exclaimed and punched the wooden railing at the side of the bridge, earning a pain in his hand and a fairly large hole in the railing.

Grumbling to himself, he leaned his back against the railing and slid down so that he was sitting, knees bent, hand still sore. Naruto felt his anger slowly ebb away, being replaced with unbearable sadness.

Tears formed in his eyes and no matter how much he willed them not to, they still fell, mixing with the rain drops that had just started to fall, as if the sky was crying with him. Thoughts and memories flooded Naruto's mind, ones of all the times he had spent with Sakura for the last few days. All the hugs and concerned remarks that she had given him, did they all mean nothing? Was he just something that was used to make Sasuke jealous?

Naruto eased his head back and stared up at the sky, letting the cold raindrops drizzle down his neck and into his wind breaker.

-"Maybe I should just run away to another village and try to start my life all over again..." he muttered to himself as more camouflaged tears escaped his eyes.

-"That doesn't sound like a very good idea to me..."

Naruto head shot up to see Sakura standing beside him, look very tiered, and very wet. Naruto quickly stood up and ran a hand over his face, trying to dry it off as much as possible so that the water didn't blur his vision.

-"What are you doing here?" he asked, trying to sound angry, but only succeeding in sounding cold and lost.

-"I came looking for you...I never got to tell you what really happened back there." Sakura said and combed a stay piece of hair behind her ear with a few fingers.

-"You don't need to tell me what happened, I was there! I saw you and Sasuke kiss, I'm not stupid Sakura!" Naruto lashed out, spitting out the word 'kiss' as if it was poisonous. Sakura let him last out at her without protest.

-"I didn't want to kiss Sasuke." she said firmly and hugged herself against the cold. (A/N: Never wear a spaghetti strap dress and sandals in the rain late at night. That's a big no-no!) "He-...he forced himself on me after I told him that I didn't want to be with him." she finished.

-"And you honestly want me to believe that?" Naruto said as another tear ran down his face, only this time, Sakura noticed.

-"Yeah, I do. Because it's the truth." she said softly and reached up, wiping his tears away with her thumb. Naruto remained silent, still not convinced. "Sasuke stole my first kiss...and I didn't want that to happen. First kisses are supposed to be special, and something that you'll remember for the rest of your life..." Sakura continued on as she retreated her hand back so it could rub her other arm in an attempt to stay warm. "I wanted to have my first with you...Naruto-kun." she finished and looked up into Naruto's eyes.

Naruto could feel heat start to rise into his face as his heart went into overdrive. _'She wanted to kiss me, not Sasuke?...' _"Oh Sakura-chan..." Naruto said softly and drew Sakura's shaking body into a hug. "I'm sorry I didn't believe you. It's just that, almost everybody in the village hated my guts, and it came easily to think that you did too." he said as he hugged her close, trying to transfer some of his body heat to her. Sakura gently pulled away from his embrace and looked in his eyes once more.

-"Naruto-kun, I could never hate you! You're too special a person to me and...I think that I-um...that I love you...Naruto-kun." Sakura said quietly and looked away from him, feeling extremely embarrassed.

It took a few seconds for this confession to sink in.

-"You...y-you love me?" Naruto asked quietly, his eyes on Sakura's red face. She merely shook her head and looked at him, seeing a genuine smile spread across his features. "This is AWESOME!" Naruto cried out and lunged at Sakura, hugging her tightly. "I'm so glad to hear that!"

Sakura melted into his embrace (Melted as in emotionally, she's still freezing her ass off physically.)

-"Sakura-chan, I love you too!" Naruto said happily as he pulled away from the hug, eyes portraying sheer delight. Sakura's eyes went wide.

-"Y-you do!"

-"Yes! I always have!"

Sakura smiled happily. "Thank you Naruto-kun." she said softly and leaned in, planting a kiss on Naruto's lips. Naruto's eyes widened slightly as she slowly wrapped her arms around his neck, strengthening the kiss. He was about to respond to the kiss when Sakura suddenly pulled away. "Sorry." she said breathlessly and quickly unwrapped her arms from his neck, looking down. "It's getting late, I should get home."

Sakura turned to leave when Naruto quickly caught hold of her hand, spinning her around and hastily catching her lips in a passionate kiss. Sakura's eyes widened and her heart thumped in her chest enthusiastically. Closing her eyes, she returned the kiss with passion she never knew she had. Naruto wrapped his arms around her shaking form and deepened the kiss.

They broke apart after a few more seconds and Naruto pulled Sakura into another hug. Sakura leaned into his chest, enjoying his warm touch on her cold skin.

-"So um, Sakura-chan...Does this mean you'll be my girlfriend?" Naruto asked hesitantly in her ear. Sakura chuckled lightly.

-"I don't see why not." she said and Naruto let go of her, looking up at the night sky.

-"Your mom is gonna be pissed at me. It's definitely past 10 pm." he said and sighed.

-"Sorry about my parents, I'm sure they'll learn to like you eventually." Sakura encouraged him and turned to leave.

-"Yeah, I guess..." Naruto muttered and un zipped his wind breaker. He took it off and did a quick walk to catch up with Sakura. Placing the jacket on her shoulders, pe put his arm around her back for warmth. Sakura turned and gave him a smile.

-"Thanks Naruto-kun, for everything." she said and leaned her head on his shoulder.

-"No problem. Anything for you, Sakura-chan." Naruto whispered to her, looking up at the sky, which had just recently stopped crying it's cold rain drops. _'I'm glad everything worked out in the end...'_ Naruto thought to himself as the couple walked back to Sakura's house, and perhaps certain doom...

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_**HEY! This is in fact the SECOND LAST chapter of Valentine's Day! Is that good? Bad? Don't ask me, all I know it that I'll be posting the next, and last, chapter before the end of September at the latest. I've really enjoyed writing this story and those of you you havn't, might I recommend you check out Love Can Make You Do Crazy Things, my other Naruto/Sakura fanfiction, which is already Complete.**_

_**The next chapter is going to be an Epilogue...that's it...HAPPY READING!**_

_**Peace out,**_

_**MelanieStar**_


	17. Epilogue

Sakura and Naruto got back to the Haruno residence at 10:30 p.m (half an hour late) and all hell did break loose. After the anger died down, Naruto retrieved his wind breaker from Sakura and bid her goodnight before leaving her house, taking a lot of the tension with him.

The next day, Sasuke didn't show up for practice at the Team 7 meeting place, not that Sakura or Naruto were complaining, he would get over last night's events soon enough and be back for practices.

After some training with Kakashi-sensei, Sakura and Naruto went to the nearby park and sat down under their favorite Sakura tree. After the subject was raised, Naruto reluctantly told Sakura about how he was the one who had Kyubi sealed withing him, and that that was the reason that the whole village shunned and hated his guts.

Sakura took the confession quite well and hugged him lovingly, reassuring him that she would stay by him and that she would never treat him the way everybody else did.

A few days later, Sakura managed to persuade Naruto to come with her to go talk to Hokage about his living conditions. Upon realizing what Naruto had to put up with at his apartment, Hokage agreed to give Naruto a little extra money each month so he could afford to move into a better apartment.

Naruto ended up moving into the Ninja Inn, a small rental place that was only a little ways away from Sakura's house, so that he could come over anytime he needed anything. The Ninja Inn was in a lot better condition then Naruto's last apartment in lots of ways and Naruto was very please to find out that the restaurant under the apartment rooms sold Ramen!

Oh yes, life was good for the blond.

As for Sasuke, things never did turn out with Hinata. Those two were just too different and didn't get any further then that first date, but it was safe to say that they didn't completely hate each other either. They would carry out a conversation once and awhile, but not often, and only if no one was looking.

Sakura's parents did get over the fact that the 'dangerous and heartless Kyubi vessel' was dating their daughter and even invited him over for dinner every Friday!

So in the end, everything turned out for our favorite couple!

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_**THE END! Thank you to all my loyal reviewers and the people who took the time to read this! Thank you sooooo much! I had lotsa fun writing this and I'm hoping to come up with a new concept for another Nar/Sak fanfiction in the near future...**_

_**This story is dedicated to all the Naru/Saku fans who read and reviewed! YOU GUYS ROCK:)**_

_**Created and Written by Melissa Smith**_

_**A.K.A. MelanieStar**_


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